Core Theta
Core Theta is one of several Imperial vassal Forge Worlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus located within the Askellon Sector in the Segmentum Obscurus. This Forge World is notable for its Magos Biologis whom are devoted from an early age to the mysteries of the flesh. Many of the Tech-priests of this extreme Forge World work on the edge of tech-heresy. In some cases, it is concerning the limits of the organic and not the technological. Constant experimentation on the rigours of flesh and the limits of life have made many of Core Theta's Genetors excellent physicians as well, a practice some disdain, but that others have come to rely on. History Unfortunately, the early history of this Forge World has been lost down the long millennia. Askellon is host to many Forge Worlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the greatest of which is Cerix Magnus. It exists in the Mechanicum's own empire that coexists with Imperial authority within the sector. Despite this, Cerix, and to a lesser extent its sister Forge Worlds Selvanus Binary and Core Theta, are as reliant on the sector as it is on them, for without raw materials from elsewhere, their forges would sputter and grow cold. Xenos Weapons Cache D-216-98 Discovered in the 39th Millennium by a team of Askellian Explorators on a Dead World rimward of Aventine, the cache designated D-216-98 began as simply another collection of scarcely understood xenos weaponry. In the solar decades since, Adepts on Core Theta have received reports of similar caches scattered across the sector. The weapons's creators remain a mystery, though Tech-magi and xenos scholars now believe they are the work of an alien species ancient and malevolent beyond compare. Inquisitors with Eldar contacts are especially concerned, as more and more of these items are found in raids against Faceless Traders, and whisper of the dead race that might awaken to destroy Askellon -- the Necrontyr. Armoury Mechanicus *'Adaptive Logis-Engine' - Many heretically advanced alien species use arcane encryptions and mechanical systems far beyond the understanding of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Nevertheless, Explorator Tech-priests of Core Theta have recovered archeotech devices from Askellon's past that can defeat the alien and show the superiority of the Omnissiah. The Adaptive Logis-Engine uses intrusion Machine Spirits, chem dispensers, electromagnetic pulses, and other forceful means to break into alien Cogitator networks and make them accessible to the agents of the Imperium. *'Ghostblade' - In the aftermath of Imperial Compliance, Core Theta's Magi took it upon themselves to create a facsimile of the mysterious phase swords of the Callidus Assassin Temple. Never able to truly replicate the design, and lacking an example to study, the final weapon is dangerous to both its user and victim. *'Graviton Hammer' - A somewhat unusual melee device, this weapon is the result of near-heretical experimentation on Core Theta to incorporate graviton technology into personal combat. Many are passed down from Inquisitor to Inquisitor as a rite of ascension for Acolytes within the Askellon Sector. *'Integration Cannon (Theta-Pattern)' - Another of Core Theta's eccentric designs, the Integration Cannon uses the principles of Graviton Weaponry, but with a wildly different effect. It projects a pulsing orb of gravitic energy that shatters on contact. A second later, the rapid mass increase draws anything nearby towards the centre, crushing it in a gruesome manner. *''Tempus'' - Completed many standard years after its owner's death under a cloud of suspicions concerning its desired purpose, Tempus contains a rare stasis device that generates pulsing waves of anti-chronal energy. The Core Thetan Magi that created the pattern consider it so dangerous that there is a large bounty for the return of any working example, yet so few exist and there have been no sightings in decades. Some within the Askellon Conclave of the Inquisition fear that the Tempus weapons have followed the first Illyricum Hammer into the hands of the Ruinous Powers. *'Theta-Pattern Shock Bolts' - Another attempt by the Tech-Adepts of Core Theta to marry more advanced technology with the primitive nature of crossbows, these bolts embed several micro-electrical capacitors within a tungsten tip, creating a non-lethal charge designed to incapacitate anything up to a Grox in size. Notable Personnel *'Magos Kiralon Burla' - The head of the Martian Priesthood's presence on Dark Echo (a.k.a. Research Station P3482XW) is Magos Kiralon Burla, a xenoarchaeologist based on Core Theta who has been studying lost civilisations for Terran centuries. Burla has been responsible for uncovering secrets of many of the long-dead species littering Askellian space. When the first investigators set foot on the planet, the tales of the ruins spread quickly. Burla's network of informants soon returned word of their findings to the Magos, and he had a full team dispatched toward the planet within a solar month. Burla quickly established the Mechanicus Research Station on the surface. The Magos left all of the details of the set-up of the base to his underlings and immediately entered the ruins to begin his analysis of the cryptic symbols and glyphs covering the ancient detritus. Not a day goes by without Burla venturing deep underground personally with a team of Servitors to study the mysterious symbols. It has become more than a quest for knowledge to him; it is now an obsession. Sources *''Dark Heresy: Core Rulebook'' (Dark Heresy 2nd Edition) (RPG), pp. 65, 323, 341 *''Dark Heresy: Enemies Beyond'' (Dark Heresy 2nd Edition) (RPG), pg. 43 *''Dark Heresy: Enemies Within'' (Dark Heresy 2nd Edition) (RPG), pp. 47, 85 *''Dark Heresy: Enemies Without'' (Dark Heresy 2nd Edition) (RPG), pp. 42-43, 50, 60, 80 Category:C Category:Adeptus Mechanicus Category:Askellon Sector Category:Forge World Category:Imperial planets Category:Imperium Category:Planets